


Debt

by fishfingersandjellybabies



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Gen, Mythical!AU, baby!Damian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-12
Updated: 2015-08-12
Packaged: 2018-04-14 07:24:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4555821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishfingersandjellybabies/pseuds/fishfingersandjellybabies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce was the Hunter they all owed their lives to. Saving his infant was the least they could do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Debt

**Author's Note:**

> Halloween Prompt 2014.
> 
> Bruce was a human hunter. Jason was human, died, Talia brought him back via a hired vampire and Jason blames Bruce for not stopping Talia from doing so. Jason and Tim don’t like each other because why not. I didn’t know what a tengu was, so I based a lot of it off a few google image searches and a wikipedia entry. Sorry if I got it wrong/this sucks. D:
> 
> (Bad ending is terrible, so sorry for that too.)

When Jason saw Tim walk into the bar, his hand tightened around his glass so tightly it shattered. “You better start talkin’ Dickiebird,” he hissed. _“Now.”_

“I didn’t know who else to ask.” Dick spoke quickly, standing to put himself between Tim and Jason. Tim seemed equally happy to see the vampire, hands already balled into tight fists.

“Ask for what?” Tim asked, giving a welcoming slap on Dick’s back, careful to avoid the wings. “What’s going on? You just said it was urgent.”

“It is.” Dick promised, but still looked unsure, the feathers around his head dulled in color, no longer the vibrant blue they were all used to. Jason could tell he was stressed.

“Well then…what is it?” Jason asked, flicking the pieces of glass stuck in his hand at Tim. “What’s so urgent that you brought both of us to this dive? So urgent that you won’t even tell us what it is?”

“Because I knew you would decline if I just asked you over the phone.” Dick drawled. “Because it’s…well, it’s about Bruce.”

“No.” Jason answered immediately.

“Jason, I haven’t-”

“I don’t care.” Jason spat, turning back to the bar. “If it has anything to do with that man then I don’t want a part of it.”

“What’s wrong with Bruce?” Tim interjected, before Dick could say anything else. “I haven’t heard from him since that werewolf thing in Toledo.”

“Bruce is dead.” Dick said bluntly. Jason turned his head to look at him. Tim took a step back in surprise.

“I’m not going on a resurrection mission.” Jason mumbled after a moment. “It’s a rip-off and not worth it.”

“Bruce _is_ worth it, and you know it.” Dick muttered back. “We would all be dead ourselves if it wasn’t for him. He saved all of us, so the least we could do is-”

“ _Saved_ us?” Jason roared, his barstool falling to the ground as he spun around and got into Dick’s face. His fangs were bared, and dangerously close to Dick’s skin. “It’s because of him that I’m _like_ this!”

Dick blinked slowly before inhaling. “Jason, you know he didn’t-”

“Fuck off.” Jason snapped, backing away. He gave a harsh laugh and turned. “It was nice seeing you again, Dickiebird. Thanks for the drink, but I think I’m going to pass on-”

“Bruce had a son.” Dick called. Jason froze.

“What, like…a real one?” Tim questioned.

“Blood son.” Jason looked back just in time to see Dick nod. “With Talia.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Jason breathed. “When? How long ago?”

“The baby was born about a year and a half ago. So it all happened after you left the compound.” Dick explained. “Bruce has been trying to get to him ever since he heard.”

“So…wait.” Tim held his hand up, face contorted in concentration. “You called us about a baby?”

Dick sighed. “The reason Bruce went to that thing in Toledo is because he’d gotten word that Talia was in charge of it. He was hoping…I don’t even know, that Talia might have the baby with her. That he would be able to see him.”

“And did he?” Jason asked, closing the distance again. “See the baby, I mean.”

“No. Damian – the baby, that’s the baby’s name – wasn’t there. He was hidden…somewhere.” Dick’s voice was becoming sad. “But Talia told him that her father was going to kill the baby. Sacrifice his soul so Ra’s could use his body as a new vessel.”

“That’s sick.” Jason spat. After a moment, Jason’s voice was softer. “Bruce…went after him, right? Went to save his kid?”

“Mhm. He and Talia both did.” Dick’s face fell. “They were both killed in the confrontation. Not long after, Ra’s found Damian.”

“Dammit.” Tim whispered. “Are you saying we have to go up against Bruce’s half-demon son?”

“No. Ra’s hasn’t done the sacrifice yet. Needs a full moon. He found Damian right after the last one.” Dick explained, his voice steeling as he looked between the beings in front of him. “The next one’s in two weeks. That’s why I called you.”

“In case you haven’t noticed,” Jason drawled. “I’m not exactly a good guy. Frankly, none of us are. We don’t go around… _saving_ people. And Bruce may have given us all half a chance but that doesn’t mean other hunters will if they see us walking around like a pack.”

“It doesn’t matter. Like I said, Bruce gave us all an opportunity. And – Jason I don’t care how bitter you still are – we all owe him something.” Dick said. “The least we can do is save his baby.”

Dick fell silent then, shoulders slumping. Both Jason and Tim could tell he was exhausted, that he’d clearly been working on this case for a while already. Tim didn’t believe it was about Bruce, that it never had been. Dick had always been protective of others, always seemed fond of the humans who so quickly scorned them. It being Bruce’s son was what got him on the case, the fact that it was a helpless child is what made him continue it.

“So!” Dick’s voice was suddenly light with hope as he clapped his hands together. “You guys with me?”

Tim and Jason looked at each other skeptically.

~

Dick was taking out the guards with a viciousness that Jason had never seen before. Knew he was capable of it, of course – just because he doesn’t really socialize with the ‘family’ doesn’t mean he ignored their existence. He kept tabs, he listened to stories. He knew the legends of the ferocious tengu known as Nightwing.

The smell of blood wafted through the hallways, and Jason felt his mouth watering. What he wouldn’t give to be helping Dick in battle right now. Stabbing the guards and reaping the benefits of their blood. Just because the al Ghuls were demons didn’t mean those in their employ were. He bet they tasted delicious.

“Focus.” Tim hissed – but not in Tim’s voice. Not with Tim’s mouth either. No, right now he looked like their enemy, had the face and body of one Ra’s al Ghul. It was all a disguise to get inside – Ra’s merely walking a prisoner to the dungeons. Where the real Ra’s was, none of them knew. None of them wanted to find out, either. But as long as Dick took out the ninja before they got the chance to call their boss, they all felt relatively safe. “You’re supposed to be a captured intruder.”

“Oh, boo hoo.” Jason whined dramatically, drawing the stares of a nearby guard as they passed. How he wished he would be able to watch Dick take him down. “Woe is me, I’ve been captured. I’ve been beaten. What a waste I am!”

Tim sighed, rolling his eyes as he tugged none-too-lightly on the shackles around Jason’s wrists as they turned a corner. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

Jason couldn’t stop the defiant grin across his face. But before he could respond, Dick was in front of them. “The guards to the nursery have been taken out. You have a straight shot from here.”

Dick was gone again before either of them could so much as nod. Just because the guards to where Damian was were down doesn’t mean they all were. Almost immediately they heard the surprised grunts and shouts of the assassins down an adjunct hallway.

“Well, you heard him.” Jason hummed, snapping the chains of his handcuffs. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Tim nodded and the two ran down the hall, pausing only at corners and crossroads, just in case there was a stray guard Dick hadn’t reached yet. Within minutes they were at the mouth of a corridor littered with unconscious bodies. Or dead, Jason couldn’t really be sure. He knew homicide wasn’t Dick’s go-to method of anything, but it was always an option.

At the end of the hallway there was a set of two intricately decorated doors. Jason felt rage build in his chest. The patterns were the beginning of a sigil, one that not only traps a soul within it but has the ability to separate soul from body if done correctly. Just a few more curves and lines and it would be complete.

Ra’s was serious.

“Break the door.” Tim ordered from next to him. “I’m not physically strong enough to destroy that piece of garbage.”

Jason didn’t respond, sprinting down the hallway. He barely stopped himself before grabbing one door by its knob and ripping it from its hinges. He threw it without care, watching as it splintered loudly against the floor.

He huffed a breath and started to turn. “Jason, wait.” He did, staring as Tim approached him, still looking like Ra’s.

“What?”

“Your fangs.” Tim pointed, and suddenly Jason felt them, sticking into his lower lip. It was because of that stupid door. He’d gotten angry, that’s all. Vampires aren’t supposed to have emotions for a reason. “This all hit a little closer to home than you claimed, huh?”

“It’s a goddamn baby, Tim.” Jason justified, taking calming breaths anyway. He slowly felt his fangs shorten back to their normal length. “Who the fuck does this kind of shit to a goddamn _baby_?”

“I feel you, Jason. I do.” Tim nodded. When Jason glanced down, he could see the skin shredding on Tim’s hands, that’s how tight his fists were. “You ready?”

Jason shrugged, but they turned into the room regardless. As expected, there were other sigils were painted on the walls, these ones finished. But it didn’t matter, they couldn’t work without the one on the doors. Jason and Tim weren’t focused on them anyway.

Damian was standing, staring at them over the bars of a pure white crib, his tiny tan hands wrapped around them. It was without question that he was Bruce’s child. The same dark hair, same pursed lips, same curious gaze. His mother was no question either – not with those bright green eyes and claw-like nails.

He glared at Jason for a moment before his gaze shifted to Tim. The child suddenly gasped, letting go of the bars and backing to the far corner of the crib. His green eyes began to shimmer with tears, shifting to a darker green. Damian balled his little hands into fists, and Jason instantly smelled blood.

“Shift.” It was Jason who commanded this time, smacking Tim in the chest. “Be someone else. He’s _scared_ of Ra’s.”

Tim did so wordlessly. Jason could hear the slither of skin contorting, the mush of muscles adjusting as he walked forward.

“Hey buddy.” He cooed. Damian’s eyes shot back to him and the tension of his body disappeared. He smiled and waved, and Damian’s eyes narrowed. “What’s your name?”

“No.” Damian retorted, hands uncurling. The smell of blood hit Jason harder as he took in the blood-crusted claws, the scars littering the boy’s palms.

“That’s an interesting name.” Jason laughed. “You want out of there?”

Damian leaned back against the bars in suspicion. “No!”

“It’s okay…beloved.” It was a female’s voice, and Damian suddenly perked.

 _“Mama!”_ he shrieked as Tim floated up to the crib. He wobbled forward, clutching excitedly at Tim’s hands.

Even with Talia’s features, Jason could see Tim’s sadness. Damian didn’t know, or didn’t realize. His mother was dead. Both of his parents were dead.

“Miss you.” Damian huffed with a grin. He already had a few teeth, each slightly pointed. “I miss you.”

“I…I know, darling.” Tim hesitated as he leaned down. Damian reached up, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck. Gently, he lifted the child from his bed.

Jason whistled as Tim bounced the baby on his hip. Seconds later, Dick appeared in the doorway. “We got him. You good to go?”

Damian had looked over at Jason’s voice, then turned to Dick. He didn’t seem as suspicious of him, but perhaps it was the shadows of the room, masking most of Dick’s prominent features. Slowly, he reached up, smacking lightly against Tim’s face. “Da?”

“Oh, oh no…” Tim tried as Dick walked forward.

“Hello, Damian.” Dick smiled, running a hand over the child’s head.

“Hewooo, Da!” Damian squeaked, flailing his hands forward. He caught one of the feathers on Dick’s shoulder and yanked on it. Dick only flinched slightly, but the smile never wavered.

Jason snorted as Tim’s panic washed over Talia’s features. “He thinks you’re his dad.”

“Let him” Dick said gently, sorrowfully, taking Damian from Tim’s arms. Damian giggled, eyes returning to their bright green, as he took more feathers in his hands.

“Dick, you’re not…” Tim started.

“I said we each owed Bruce _at least_ one thing. Well, I owe him more than that. I owe him _every_ thing.” Dick whispered, kissing Damian’s head as the child reached for his wings. “After all he gave me, even raising his son won’t be enough to pay him back for it.”

“Bur.” Damian murmured excitedly, nuzzling his face against the blue feathers. “Da’s a bur! Imma bur!”

“It’s pronounced _bird_ , short stack.” Jason corrected, poking Damian’s cheek.

Damian scowled at him, slapping frantically at his hand. “ _No._ ”

“But Dick, think about it.” Tim started.

“I did. Before I ever called the two of you.” Dick cut him off. “If Talia were still around, I’d leave him with her, just protect the two of them. But she’s not. He’s got nowhere else to go.”

“We can call Clark.” Tim still tried. “Diana. They’ll know what to do. They’ll know where we can take him.”

“We’re not taking him anywhere.” Dick’s voice was hard. “He’s staying with me.”

“Da.” Damian sighed happily. He glanced pointedly at Jason. “No.” Instantly, he reached out to Tim, taking a hold of his long hair. “Mama.”

Dick blinked and let out a laugh. “ _Ohhh_ no.” Tim stuttered, trying to back away. Damian’s grip on his hair was tight. “I am _not_ …!”

“We’ll get that figured out when we get home.” Dick’s voice was warm. Suddenly there was a crash somewhere in the compound. All three turned back towards the door. There was nothing visible in the hallway, but a strong wind began sifting through the doorway.

Damian shuddered, releasing Tim’s hair and pressing himself closer to Dick’s chest. He let out a low moan, sounding miserable as he said, “Uh oh.”

“Let’s revise that statement, Dickiebird,” Jason huffed as he ran over to the window and threw it open. He quickly leaned out before turning, and beckoning the others. “From _when_ we get home to _if_ we get home.”

“I won’t let him hurt you.” Dick swore, pushing Tim towards Jason. Tim got up on the sill, and stepped off. Damian let out a wail of fear. “I won’t let him hurt _any_ of you.”

“Save the heroics for later.” Jason grunted, rolling his eyes as he pulled Dick backwards. “And just jump out the damn window!”


End file.
